Hands On With Saints Row IV at E3

I tried out Volition and Deep Silver's upcoming open-world crime sci-fi superhero action game, and get the first look at the functioning Super Dangerous Wub Wub Edition.

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LOS ANGELES–The closing of THQ led to questions about the fate of one of its most popular franchises: Saints Row. Publishing company Deep Silver picked up the brand, employed Volition, and now Saints Row IV is scheduled to hit Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in August. I got to play the game for half an hour at E3 2013, and even managed to get a look at one of the bass-droppingest collector's editions coming this year.

The demo set the stage for the game. It's five years after Saints Row 3, and the leader of the Saints has been elected president of the United States of the America. Now the White Crib is a drug-filled, stripper-laden house of debauchery, and the leader of the Saints is getting frustrated with leading the free world. That changes when aliens invade and abduct the president and vice president Ketih David, along with his cabinet/gang, series regulars Shaunti, Pierce, Oleg, and Kinzie. That's not Keith David playing Julius, the former leader of the Saints (or playing any other character). That's Keith David playing Keith David, vice president of the United States.

You can tell the game's going to be crazy. After fighting through the White Crib and getting in a fistfight with the alien leader, I was abducted, and the game moved forward to a point where I was in a virtual Steelport, equipped with superpowers. The plot didn't make any more sense, but I had two challenges to attempt, so I kept myself occupied.

The Blazin race mode put me on foot and tasked to run around the city and hit checkpoints. Thanks to my superpowers, I could run like the Flash and jump like the Incredible Hulk, so getting around was even easier than driving. The dash also let me plow through cars and people like they weren't there, throwing them to the side as I picked up green speed boosts and jumped over flaming obstacles.

The Mind Over Murder mode is Saints Row IV's version of Saints Row 3's Professor Genki's game show challenges. Instead of fighting through a maze, I got to use telekinetic powers to pick up vehicles, people, and giant cat heads and throw them through glowing rings in the sky while people in colorful animal suits drove up in ATVs and shot at me. Fortunately, I had a laser rifle that looked like a Super Soaker, a gun that fires black holes, and the beat-shaking Dubstep Gun.

Saints Row IV looks like a lot of fun. I respect that, after Saint's Row 3 and the possible fear that they're running out of ideas, they hit the nitro buton and decided to use all of the ideas. They're throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks, and it looks like it could make a fun sandbox game.

I also got hands on with the items included with the Saints Row IV Super Dangerous Wub Wub Edition, the $99 PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game that come with a 12-inch mini-dubstep gun, a doomsday dubstep button, and a statue of former Saint Johnny Gat. Watch the video above for a look at the doomsday dubstep button and dubstep gun. All you need to know is... they're a doomsday button and a plastic gun that both play dubstep, and the gun has a laser. If you love dubstep, they're great toys. If you hate dubstep, they're great weapons.

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for more than six years, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. Since graduating from Syracuse University in 2005, Will has been an active technology journalist both online and in print. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PCMag.com labs, focusing on Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, and other home theater equipment.
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